In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” a small group of boys, stranded on an uninhabited island after a plane crash, devolve into savagery. Whatever behavioral norms they started with did not endure. For many women, the Internet is such a place — where behavior is savage and a certain segment of the male population acts with impunity. Trolling, doxxing, SWATing, mansplaining, derailing, threats, defamation, the posting of unwanted porn — these are all mostly male activities aimed at dominating, terrifying and ultimately silencing women in the same cyber world women populate in greater numbers than do the men that harass them. A set of Internet norms, rooted in a sincere desire for communication, transmission of information and civility, are yet to establish themselves.

Bailey Poland’s book, “Haters: Harassment, Abuse and Violence Online,” is a detailed look at women’s experiences online. She also looks at some of the tactics and resources available to people looking for assistance and support. Poland’s point of view is feminist and her assertion is that whatever has been allowed and tolerated offline in the United States is paralleled online. Catcalls, grabbing and leering on the streets and subways are sexist behaviors. Trolling and mansplaining and deluging your inbox with unwanted porn are cybersexist behaviors. The norms that permit such behaviors are the same.

“Cybersexism,” writes Poland, “is the expression of prejudice, privilege and power in online spaces and through technology as a medium.” She describes cybersexism as a way to create, support and enforce norms of male dominance in online spaces.

According to studies, about three-quarters of those experiencing online harassment are women. Though online harassment can happen to anyone unfortunate enough to incur the wrath of a disgruntled person, women have almost no effective recourse. Careers and personal relationships are strained and sacrificed when women are defamed online at the workplace and on social media platforms. Even if she blocks the harasser — and blocking is only temporary — colleagues, friends and family continue to see the deluge of vile content.

Among the most disturbing examples of harassment is the programmer and game developer Kathy Sierra who was forced to cancel all her speaking engagements and put her career on hold because of the life-threatening harassment she endured. Anyone who has read comments online has experienced the kind of hatred the Internet tolerates. Speech is protected, writes Poland, but threats are not. Yet they persist.

Poland’s book is one of the few that tackles this topic as it exists today. She explains the harassing behavior that’s prevalent on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, for example, and talks about the tactics available to people, though effective means of protection do not yet exist.

The types of abuse range from irritating to debilitating:Mansplaining and derailing: Interrupting and redirecting the discussion to the interrupter. The purpose is to assert intelligence and expertise over the woman posting.

Doxxing — Collecting personal information about someone and distributing it via the Internet.

SWATing — Making a hoax call about a hostage situation, potential suicide or something life-threatening that requires police to go to the woman’s residence.

Threats — Including threats of rape and other violence, with posting of graphic images. Typically, content is “vile and dangerous.” Poland writes, “Legal solutions for dealing with online threats are currently ineffective at best.”

Hacking — Getting into another person’s accounts, even taking them over.

Mob harassment — Sending other haters to a woman’s platforms to harass her.

Trolling — Posting inflammatory comments on public platforms. The comments are racist, sexist or threatening. Trolls make the content, the author or even other commenters the target of their incendiary comments.

“Hate mobs like those associated with Gamergate and individual abusers and stalkers have proliferated online in recent years, causing women to fear going online at all,” writes Poland. The experience of unrelenting stalking exacts a very real human toll. Poland describes the experience, in part, as the “grind of dealing with harassment day in and day out. The situation may evolve to include threatening emails sent to the target, public posts that include the woman’s home or work address and phone numbers, and threats to family members, pets and friends.”

Fighting back is complicated. Some of the most common advice is not helpful or realistic because real life and cyber life are inextricably linked. “Do not engage” and “drop out” are among the most often-cited recommendations. Many people’s careers require a social media presence, making the shuttering of accounts an act of professional suicide. As for not engaging, many cyber-terrorists consider blocking or silence as a victory and their harassment broadens to other venues. And blocking is ineffective because harassers and cyber-stalkers simply get new accounts and expand to other platforms.

Hacking, another weapon in the stalker’s arsenal, can be countered with two-factor authentication on social media sites.

And law enforcement can help. Police, though not always trained in how to deal with Internet threats, document incidences of abuse. Legal redress, which logically follows police reports, is prohibitive for most women due to the cost and the time required.

The Internet is a relatively new world. Poland asserts that it will take time and dedicated effort to make it a safer place to be. A normative shift is required, in both real and in cyber life.

— Rae Francoeur is a freelance journalist and author. She can be reached at rae@raefrancoeur.com.